This painting embodies my process in one work. I want to start with my evolution from a gestural painter to a geometric painter. I think that the geometry in these works is pretty obvious, but the gesture is still present - maybe sublimated. There’s a sense of movement and change as well as a sense of the hand in the work. There’s a physicality to the way these were made that I hope comes through.
To me, geometry is in the realm of mathematics and puts one in the mind of precision. In my work, I deliberately avoid any kind of perfection. I like asymmetrical, idiosyncratic compositions. If something is perfect or really resolved, to me, there’s a static aspect to it.
I’ve gradually become more focused on harmony and balance. As paint goes down and relationships form, improvising and making adjustments to color is where I focus. Occasionally, such as in this painting, I make adjustments to the shapes as well. I usually have a structure, and as I lay down colors, I create movement in the striations with tools like a squeegee. It creates a smooth and subtle sense of movement. I tend to use vertical and horizontal striations to imply movement across or up and down.
I’m very in love with color and combining colors. The interesting thing about it is that it’s hard to analyze because it’s so subjective. At some point in the process, I get certain intuitive nudges to use certain colors or combinations. Sometimes I revise, and occasionally I sand down to start over if it’s not working, but usually I am just building up the surface.
I mix colors because I don’t like flat opaque colors. I prefer a sense of transparency and that light is coming through. I like intermingling colors into a kind of weave. I like complexity, but I also like tension to exist between that and simplicity. To me, there’s a lot of polarities in the work that creates a tension that makes them interesting. Whatever my plan is, in the end, it is more about me responding to what’s happening on the canvas.
